Tales of Us

About Tales of Us

In “Congo Tales,” a new book about the second-largest tropical forest in the world, the story of a people and their home comes alive. -New York Times Book Review

Tales Of Us is an ongoing multimedia series that offers a new approach to communicating the urgency of protecting the world’s most powerful and fragile ecosystems and the people who call them home.

Congo Tales (Random House / Prestel, November 15th, 2018) and the short film The Little Fish and the Crocodile are its first two such projects.

Upturning the traditional conventions of fear-based environmental messaging about conserving areas that have become critical to global environmental health, Tales of Us tells their stories and the stories of the people who live there in a totally new way.

Staging the local mythologies, legends and lore that form the basis of cultures that predate modern civilization by centuries or more in the natural – and ecologically critical — environments from which they sprang, and photographing them using the world’s most celebrated portrait photographers, Tales of Us communicates the magic and mystery of these little understood places in a way that empowers and uplifts, and that reaches people in other parts of the world who may otherwise not hear the message.

Tales of Us sets out to change what has become a single story about places of great environmental import, and shows that there are in fact many stories around both.

The result is a cross-cultural and cross-continental collaboration between the people who live in often besieged areas of ecological importance, and a global audience of people whose decisions affect both, that is intended to prevent the loss of these all-important bastions of nature, and reveal their priceless value to the world and our communal future in it.

OurMethodology

We are committed to the contribution of positive change in the communities where our projects take place. Instead of imposing our own cultural standards, we work to carry the philosophy of true impact productions. We endeavor to learn from the deep truth of diverse narratives so we can unite cultures and leave programs behind for future generations. For this reason, we take special steps to ensure our team members operate in a socially aware and ethically coherent way.

Considering the individuality of local structures and cultural features

Strategically using the materials that are regularly available to locals

Employing community members to maintain cultural depth and richness

Improving quality of life for communities by encouraging creative thinking

Training support and feedback opportunities for continuous improvement

Creating platforms for untold narratives to be told in authentic ways and settings

Congo Tales

Congo Tales

Upturning the traditional conventions of fear-based environmental messaging and the portrayal of Africa solely as a place of plague and war, Congo Tales takes a completely different approach to communicating the urgency of conservation efforts in this region.

In this groundbreaking photo series that was 5 years in the making, national Congolese who live in the Mbomo district of the Congo Basin staged their never-before recorded mythology for fine art portrait photographer Pieter Henket (Lady Gaga, Eddie Redmayne, Mary J. Blige). Henket’s portraits – of dozens of children forming the shape of an Mbomo (or Boa Constrictor); of over a hundred Congolese women forming a line at the border of the forest; of Congolese men on the hunt for a mythical bird – make the Congolese, their myths, and the rainforest the stars of Congo Tales, and communicate the magic and mystery of this little understood place, and its incalculable value to the planet.

A book and a short film

Channeling the primal heartbeat of one of the world’s most powerful ecosystems and the people who call it home, the mythological tales of the Congolese – of supernatural forces in control of life and death, of ritualistic initiations into adulthood, of the laws of nature that lie outside the laws of people – are revealed as a treasure trove of universal wisdom that is both existential and pragmatic, with the unspoiled Odzala Kokoua National Park as stage and actor.

​A groundbreaking work of scholarly anthropology that calls on the work of Joseph Campbell and the Brothers Grimm, and a captivating work of art and photography, Congo Tales is a feat of innovative environmental messaging and cross-cultural and cross-continental collaboration intended to both prevent the loss of this all-important bastion of nature, and reveal its priceless value to the world and our communal future in it.

A short film based on the story of The Little Fish and the Crocodile was directed by Stefanie Plattner and produced by Eva Vonk, @ Storming Donkey productions.

This Congolese mythological tale tells of a universal truth that nature abides by laws all its own, a timely message for a world in environmental crisis.

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Our Team

Stefanie Plattnerco-founder Tales of Us

Eva Vonkco-founder Tales of Us

Kovo N'sondeStory Adaptation

Pieter HenketPhotographer Congo Tales

Bosco EkanyLine Producer Congo Tales

Ani and Mouendet Idemeresearchers Congo Tales

Vulgain ImbodaEducator

David KampSound Design Congo Tales

Aichato Ibemberesearcher Congo Tales

Tartaruga FelizCharacter design workshops Tales of Us / Congo Tales

Taina de Oliveira LagoeiroProducer Tales of Us

Roger InnisProducer Congo Tales

Karen HoffstetterBranding Tales of Us

Anne WollneyProduction Assistant Tales of Us

Shaleah DawnyelContent copy editor, Tales of Us

Steve AmigoTeacher, Congo Tales

Said AbitarArt director Congo Tales

Carolina D’auriaproject advisor Congo Tales

Wilfried N’sondeliterature adaptation support, Congo Tales

Theophane BokakaStory Research, Congo Tales

Auguste MiabetoLiguist, Congo Tales

ImportantDates

13.01.19

Christie's auction photo printsPotsdam, Germany

15.11

US Book Launch at RizolliNew York city, US

21.10

Ending Exhibition at Museum BarberiniPostdam, Germany

29.06

Book Release EUOnline & In Store

29.06

Opening Exhibition at Museum BarberiniPotsdam, Germany

29.05

Exhibition MbomoRepublic of the Congo

28.05

Opening Mbomo at Sanza MobimbaRepublic of the Congo

22.05

Opening Brazzaville at C.C.A.VRepublic of the Congo

Our Partners

Sabine Plattner African Charities (SPAC) is an international charitable organization, dedicated to community based social development through education and conservation. Based in the north west of the Republic of Congo, SPAC’s educational programs offer a comprehensive approach and are committed to sustainable ecosystems and wildlife protection.

Congo Conservation Company is proud to pioneer eco-tourism in the Republic of Congo Odzala. Discovery Camps have provided pre-established trust and infrastructure for the project, ensuring logistical support including safe accommodation, local guides and translators.

Boom Productions Inc. has proven to be a solid partner in the ’Tales of Us’ journey. As a long time collaborator, producer and supporter of Pieter Henket’s work, Roger Iniss has been part of his professional development for over a decade, knowing his way of working inside and out.

Storming Donkey Productions chooses its projects carefully, storming passionately ahead to realize them. Whether for movies, series, or documentaries, for German, European or international audiences – when they’re convinced they’ve found a story that should be told, they’ll find the right way to tell it.

Museum Barberini will provide two featured spaces and full exhibition support during our 3-month run starting in June of 2018. The Barberini proudly offers its full promotional capabilities, to maximize the visibility of this dynamic project and this important cause.

Glück Workshops explores the intersection of learning, interaction and play through arts and technology, as a path to strengthen creativity. The founder of Gluck journeyed several times to the Congo Basin with our team to work on character design classes with local teachers and children.

Seven Eleven Rent is a professional photography rental company featuring top brands and high quality production equipment. They supplied our team with a state of the art package that has taken the results of the photo series to another level.

Studiokamp is a music and sound design company run by composer and award-winning sound artist David Kamp. David journeyed with us into the Congo to capture the unique sounds of Odzala park, its vibrant nature, and hidden villages. Based on those field recordings, he created a multichannel soundscape composition for the exhibition space.

We want to tell more stories. Want to become a partner? Get in touch here.

The Book

A stunning new visual book tells stories of the Congo and its people through lush and imaginative photography.

– The New York Times Book Review

Deep inside the second largest rainforest in the world, the village of Mbomo is inhabited by a diverse group of cultures. After surviving years of devastating Ebola epidemics, the “Mbomoians” now live in a peaceful coexistence. While many ‘stories from the forest’ can be found here, most of them have never before been told.

Offering a fresh yet intimate view of life inside this ecologically rich basin, the Congo Tales photo book joins a deeply moving traditional narrative through the eyes of its community with cinemographic illustration. Although years of research have gone into creating the final result of this series, the images themselves are anything but contrived.

Mainly focusing on children in their most natural form, this book provides powerful imagery of play, translating the importance of nature and conservation.

The Crocodileand the Fish

Film is a beautiful, powerful medium to tell stories that need to be told.

Our team journeyed several times over a three-year period to the Congo Basin with a drawing and animation teacher, an education expert, the project’s producer and other researchers and partners. Together we worked with local teachers on guiding children to draw from the elements of nature and create interesting characters with which to tell stories.

Over the course of several workshops facilitated specifically for the children of Mbomo, these remarkable kids progressed from initial character creation, to creative storytelling and development. By playing with and performing their own adaptation of a traditional story – “The Crocodile and the Fish” –a short film was born as a result of these workshops. This short film will serve as one of the main aspects of our project exhibition, film festivals and educational supplements.

TheMakingof

Giving a voice to those who have observed our work over the last few years, this ‘making of’ film, illustrates the perspective of the amazing Congolese community who let us into their homes and hearts over this 3-year journey. Comprised of the material collected over these years, this video provides an interesting look behind the screens for those who wish to learn more about the real story behind the Congo Tales.

Get inTouch

Where shouldwe go next?

Tales of Us is an ongoing cultural awareness project committed to immortalizing the hidden stories of the world. You can help us by suggesting a place or becoming a partner and collaborator for future projects. Suggest our next location in the blank below and help us to unite cultures!